Bahraini Court Fines Four Editors Accused of Publishing Lies

Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Bahrain’s High Criminal Court fined
four editors from the independent newspaper Al-Wasat who were
accused of publishing falsehoods in connection with anti-government protests, said its editor-in-chief, Mansoor al-Jamri.

They were ordered to pay fines of 1,000 dinars ($2,652)
each, al-Jamri, who is among the four, said in a telephone
interview. He said the newspaper itself was convicted of
printing false information from March 25 to 29. The dates
coincided with part of a government crackdown on pro-democracy
demonstrators, most of them Shiite Muslims.

Prosecutors accused al-Jamri of publishing false stories to
incite fellow Shiites to rise against the Sunni Muslim-led
government. Al-Jamri said the information was planted into the
newspaper’s computer system and published inadvertently.

Bahraini authorities detained hundreds of people, most of
them Shiites, following protests to demand representative
government and more rights. At least 35 people were killed
during the clashes. Bahrain’s Shiites represent about 70 percent
of the population, according to the U.S. State Department, and
have long demanded rights equal to those of Sunnis, including
appointments to senior government and military posts.